Teen Chat: Dealing With Exam Stress by Beth Lucy

This is a guest post written by Beth Lucy, another teen lifestyle and fashion blogger.

Hi there! My name is Beth Lucy and today I am guest posting as part
of the new teen series that has launched on this blog. I write blogs about travel, lifestyle, books and fashion! Although I do cover general topics as well. If you are interested in reading some of my blogs here is the link to my website -https://bethlucyblogs.com/blogs.

This is the link to my Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/bethlucyblogs/

I wanted to write about coping with exams and how to offset exam stress and pressure. As a teenager myself, I understand how difficult it is to cope with exam stress and so I have made a list of useful things you can do to offset the stress.

1: Go For A Walk

Once you have been inside cooped up all day doing revision it is good to give yourself a break and get some fresh air. Walking will not only give you a well-deserved break and help replenish your focus, but studies from Harvard suggest that just a ten-minute walk can help boost your creative thinking and your ability to recall what you have just learnt. Walking is also great for clearing your mind and boosting your energy levels. Whether it is with your family or a walk alone, walking is really beneficial and it does not require much time or effort to do so. If you have a dog then you could walk your dog; or borrow a friend’s dog and walk with them!

2: Get A Good Amount of Sleep

Try and get more work done in the day so that you can go to bed early and then wake up the following morning without feeling tired. If you cram in all your work in late and do revision through the night then this will really not help you when you do your exams, as not only can this become a habit, but it means you are getting less sleep and so you will be less likely to remember the important information that you need in your tests.

Understand when you work best: are you a morning person? Do you work best in the evening? Make sure you can work at a time that is right for you, but this does not mean late at night!

3: Yoga and Reflexology

So many young people dismiss yoga as boring or stupid, but it is honestly so helpful! Yoga is not only just twisting your body into different poses, but it is about breathing and relaxation. People who do yoga usually find that they are better prepared for dealing with stress and anxiety. Practising yoga builds your ability to stay calm, focus, balance and relax. Additionally, you can practice it yourself at home as no equipment is needed, only a yoga mat.

I also do reflexology because it is such a great way to reduce stress and anxiety. Reflexology is focused on massaging your head and feet to release feel-good hormones. Reflexology also therapeutically reduces stress and tension in your body to improve blood circulation and increase nerve supply to the cells. Toxins are also released from the body’s tissues.

Reflexology is also very beneficial for your mental health! Millions of people in the world suffer from anxiety, and reflexology uses massage techniques which can improve your mental health and reduce your anxiety.

4: Don’t Procrastinate on Your Phone

This is so important! Phones are a big distraction and I waste so much time on Instagram and social media each day. When revising, it is helpful not to have your phone in your room as messages and notifications may pop up and you will be tempted to respond to them. So, make sure you put your phone in a different room or give it to a family member. Additionally, when doing exams, you should spend less time on your phone to ensure that you are revising. Recently introduced on Instagram is the ‘my activity’ setting which shows you how long you are on the app for. You can use this setting as a guideline to know how much time you spend on social media, or you can set a daily reminder (on Instagram) for a limit of what you want to spend on your phone. When you reach the limit, you get a reminder.

If you have a newly-updated iPhone then you can check on ‘screen time’ in settings to see how much time you spend on your phone. Additionally, you can install a password onto screen time to set time limits for certain apps. You could get a family member to write down a password so that when you can’t get onto the apps because your screen time is up, you still won’t know the password. I use this on my phone and it has really helped me reduce my time on social media. If you do not have an iPhone, you can install apps which will tell you how long you spend on your phone. Not using your phone as much will mean you won’t be communicating with friends or people online about exam stress or how much revision you have done and you will not be procrastinating as much!

5: Do Sport

Sport is something I do all the time to help distract myself from my exam stress. Physical activity helps produce endorphins which are chemicals in the brain. They act as natural painkillers to clear your negative thoughts and stress. They also improve your ability to sleep and reduce your stress levels. It is such an effective way to get rid of exam pressure and worries.
And the last one…

6: Set Goals

Sometimes it can be really difficult to actually do the revision. I spend so much time procrastinating so that occasionally I not prepared for the exams. To avoid procrastination and more exam stress, try setting realistic goals of what you want to achieve. Whether that be in your revision or how well you want to do in the exams so that you have a goal to persevere and work for. Making it realistic means that you will not become stressed, as you shouldn’t try and put pressure on yourself to get the top grades as this will only mean that you could perform worse in the tests.

Also, try to make or write out a revision timetable of what you are going to do on each day and for how many hours. Make sure to distribute it in a way that will work for you, making sure you focus more on the areas/ subjects you are not as confident on. Include also in the timetable when you will be taking breaks, as you cannot revise all day!

Thank you so much for reading this! I hope it will help you with dealing with exam stress and give you some new ideas on how to reduce anxiety and pressure. If you want to read some more of my blogs then please make sure to click the links at the top of this blog!